Sing Me An Old Fashioned Song
by Reefgirl
Summary: Scully, Dogget and Reyes investigate the murders of a group of old University friends who were members of a folk group


Sing Me An Old Fashioned Song

_**Connor O'Dell's House, Chappaquidick Island, Massachusetts**_

Connor O'Dell is sorting out his loft, a job he'd been putting off for a long time, under the window he spots his violin case he hadn't played it for years not since he'd left university anyway, he picks it up tucks it under his chin and plays an old Irish folk tune, ahh Granda would be proud he thinks, with the violin under his arm he looks through a box of photographs he picks up one of a group of students and smiles, he walks back to the window humming Midnight On The Water an old Norma Waterstone and Mick Carthy song he hadn't thought of in years it must have been the photo, that had been one of his big numbers all those years ago. A soft wind blows through the loft, Connor shivers it's like someone was walking over his grave, he sees a small bag in the violin case he picks it up and opens it, in it is herbs and bones, the wind gets stronger and he hear's a noise in the rafters, he looks up into a pair of red eyes and he screams as the creature jumps on him

_**FBI Headquarters, Washington DC**_

Agent Dana Scully is scowling at her computer and banging the hard drive

"Come on boot up for god's sake, I need those files now" she growls, a woman pokes her head round the door

"I...erm...I...er...I can c c come back l l later if you want" she stammers

"Agent Frost? from IT? you're just the person I want this stupid thing won't boot up" says Scully, Agent Frost smiles

"Ah I know what it is it's a hangover from that virus we were tracking last week" she replies as she sits at Scully's computer

"I heard you were hero of the hour, you tracked the geek that started it and wrote the anti virus patch, if it hadn't been for you it would have disabled two thirds of the worlds computers" says Scully, Frost blushes

"I was only doing my job, it was nothing really" she says quickly, Scully smiles

"You should bask in the glory" she says, Frost goes pale and starts to wring her hands

"Oh God no I...I...c c can't do that I..I..I'd die, I h h hate being noticed" Frost stammers and breaks into a sweat, Scully lays a hand on her shoulder

"Easy easy take a deep breath" Frost starts to calm down "how long have you been having panic attacks" Scully asks

"About 5 years, it started with the chronic shyness I suffered with as a kid, it triggers the panic attack, so the shrink says anyway, I had a really good shrink in Boston when I was at MIT he gave me this programme to help combat the shyness, I guess I let it slip when I started working in computers here, I could slip into the background and stay there" Frost admits, Scully smiles sympethetically, both women turn their heads as Agent John Doggett comes through the door

"Skinner wants to see us ASAP" he sees Frost trying to blend in with the paintwork "hey Karen you got the computer fixed then, what was wrong with it" Frost mutters about a virus and sorry about being in the way and virtually runs out the door, he turns to Scully "what'd I do, she always runs when she sees me coming"

"Chronic shyness, she's been suffering with it since she was a kid, it's nothing personal, so what does Skinner want" Scully says, Doggett shrugs

"Better go and find out" he says.

_**AD Skinner's Office**_

"Come in" Skinner says in reply to the knock on his door, Scully and Doggett come in and take their seats "how's Mulder"

"Fine, looking forward to coming back to work" replies Scully

"Good good, I'll be glad to see him again" he responds

"So what do you have for us Sir" asks Doggett, Skinner hands over a file, Doggett pulls out a photo of what's left of Connor O'Dell, he winces

"This was handed to us this morning, Connor O'Dell music journalist for the Boston Globe didn't turn up for work yesterday a friend went to his home to see where he was and found this and it's not the only one, this is Michael Phillips a session musician from Crabapple Cove, Maine" says Skinner

"Why us, it sounds like a serial killer to me" asks Scully

"The Boston and Maine PD found some ritualistic items" he replies

"Ok Sir we'll leave now" says Scully as they prepare to leave the office

"Deputy Director Kersh would like this to be an ordinary serial killer, your last few cases have given him an ulcer" remarks Skinner, Scully laughs

"If this is an X File I'll treat him for free".

_**Stuart Hazelgrave's House, South Bay, San Franscisco**_

Maria Sanchez pulls into the drive of her employers house, she gets out of her car serching for the key to the house, the house is un-nervingly quiet he's usually getting ready for work when she comes in, maybe he's overslept,

"Senor Stuart, Senor Stuart it's Maria are you ok" she calls "Senor Stuart" she knocks on the bedroom door and pushes it gently "Sen..." she stops and crosses herself as she sees inside the bedroom "Santa Maria have mercy" she mutters as she runs

_**Connor O'Dell's House, Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts**_

Scully and Doggett look around the house it's immaculate, the loft however is much different,

"Jeez it looks like a bomb went off in here" remarks Doggett as he pokes his head up through the loft door, a detective looks over at them

"Agents Doggett and Scully?" she asks, they nod "I'm Detective Kay Lawrence, I'm in charge of this" she indicates to the mess

"So what do you think happened" asks Doggett, Lawrence shrugs

"I was told you were the experts" she replies "it looks like an animal attack but there are no bears here on Chappaquiddick, I don't know but whoever or what ever did this was pretty vicious"

"We were told some ritulistic items were found" says Scully, Lawrence hands her a photograph of a symbol

"An ultra violet sweep was taken of the room to see if any hair or fabric could be used for DNA test but this showed up, satanic?" she says

"I have no idea but I'll show this to an aquaintance of ours and see what she comes up with, was there any indication of ritulistic activities in his file" replies Doggett, Lawrence shakes her head, Scully has been looking through O'Dell's file and then starts to rummage through her bag and pulls out Michael Phillips's file

"Look these two photographs are the same, this one was found on Phillips's body" she exclaims

"O'Dell had this in his hand when he was found" says Lawrence "an old collage picture I should think"

"So Phillips and O'Dell studied together, maybe someone has it in for this group we'd better try and get hold of the rest of the people in this picture see what they can tell us" says Doggett as his phone starts to ring.

_**Stuart Hazelgrave's House, South Bay, San Franscisco**_

Doggett and Scully flash their badges at the officer on the door and he lets them in, all around them the usual murder scene business is going on, Scully beams as she sees the familier figure of Detective Darryl Morris talking to a uniformed officer, he smiles and comes over when he spots them

"Hi Darryl, what have we got" says Doggett, Morris sighs

"Stuart Hazelgrave, played the double bass for the San Franscisco Symphony Orchestra, his housekeeper Maria Sanchez found him when she turned up for work" he recites

"Anything 'unusual' found on him" asks Scully knowingly

"A photograph and a bag of herbs and bones" Morris lowers his voice "according to Piper and her sisters it's Voodoo based"

"Can we see the photograph" says Doggett " we know of two other suspicious murders and this could be linked to them", Morris hands over the picture sure enough it's the same as the other two

"Bingo, I'll get on to the bureau and see if they can trace the other 2 in this picture if it's not too late" says Scully grabbing her mobile out of her pocket

"So what did Piper have to say" asks Doggett

"Well the bag of bones and herbs that was found is something called a gris gris bag, it's left on the doorstep of the house of a person someone wants harm done too, popular way of warning your enemies in New Orleans apparently" replies Morris, Doggett shows him the photograph of the sign found in Connor O'Dell's house

"Find anything like this" he asks, Morris shakes his head

"Not yet, I'll order the ultra violet sweep and let you know what we find" he says, Scully comes back into the room

"They've got resorces tracing the last two in the photographs, I don't think we can do much more here we'd better head back to Washington" she says, Morris nods

"I'll keep you posted on the official and unofficial investigation" he promises

"Where can we find his housekeeper" asks Doggett "I'd like to ask her if she knows anything about the people in the picture".

_**Maria Sanchez's House**_

Maria lets Doggett and Scully into her front room, she is clearly upset about the death of her employer

"I don't know of anyone who would want to hurt Senor Hazelgrave he was such a kind man, he never had a bad thing to say about anyone" she says

"Did you ever see a photograph of him with a group of friends probably from his student days" says Scully kindly, Maria shakes her head

"No...no I didn't, he didn't talk about his college days at all not to me anyway" she replies

"Did you know if he got a messege from an old friend that upset him, made him angry anything" prompts Doggett

"I did see him listening to his answer machine one morning he looked worried after one messege but I don't know who it was from and he asked me to make sure the alarm was set at all times, that's what was so...strange about it, after that call he was a little paranoid about locking all the doors and windows almost like he was expecting someone to break in" Maria sighs "Evil, evil killed him, I felt it that day, something evil has been in that house" she crosses herself "someone wanted Senor Stuart dead so badly that they sold their soul to the devil"

_**The X Files Office**_

Scully is sorting through the post, she spots Darryl Morris's handwriting and rips the envelope open, inside is a picture of a symbol similar to the one found in Connor O'Dell's house along with a note, she opens it and reads

'Piper says the symbol is a vèvè, a symbol to represent a voodoo god, she's not sure which but it's not a good one'

after reading it she gets up and heads out of the door punching a number into her mobile as she goes

"John it's me, meet me in Monica's office...right see you there"

_**Monica Reyes' Office**_

Agent Monica Reyes is sitting in front of her computer updating her files when she hears a knock at the door

"Come in" she says, Scully comes in with a photograph in her hand

"Hi Monica sorry to burst in unannounced but we need your help, what does this mean" she asks, just then Doggett comes through the door

"Did I miss anything" he says

"Not yet, I was just showing Monica the photo Darryl sent me" replies Scully, "apparently it's a vèvè used in Voodoo", Monica has been studiying the picture

"It's a vèvè alright" she says, Doggett and Scully look confused

"And?" enquire's Doggett

"Vèvè's are symbols that represent loa's, they're the voodoo gods, rada loa's are the benevolant gods, the good guy's, petro loa's aren't, they're the ones worshipped by the black magic practioners, I'd say this one is a petro if you hang on I'll tell you which one" she says as she taps her computer, she calls up a picture of three interlocking triangles inside a circle, the same as the picture Scully has in her hand "Right this is the symbol of Zdenek, he require's sacrifice, the bigger the sacrifice the bigger the job, for this job I'd say it was human, whoever is involved is well pracised in the art of Black Voodoo a high priest I should think"

"Are there different symbols to represent different gods" asks Scully, Monica nods

"Yes, why do you ask" she replies

"Well another symbol was found, similar but not identical to this one in Connor O'Dell's house" Scully says

"Why didn't we see anything like this in the Martin Jackson case" asks Doggett

"New Orleans voodoo is pracised differently from Haitian voodoo" Monica replies

"So what you're saying is that someone has conjoured up this Zdenek, what, for some revenge kick on this group of former college friends" Doggett replies, Monica nods

"I'd say so, any luck on finding the last two in the picture" she asks

"I was on my way to see the guy's upstairs when I got Scully's call" he replies,

"I think we should go and hear what they have to say" says Scully, "Thanks for the help Monica"

"Good luck, I'm always here if you need help" says Monica.

**_The IT Offices_ **

Scully and Doggett enter the offices and head towards the agent sitting at his desk

"Hey Tony, anything yet" Doggett asks, Agent Tony Bennett turns around

"Yep I was just going to call you" he says as Scully and Doggett crowd around the computer "the guy's name is Andy Tyler a high school music teacher here in Washinton DC, the girl is Carol Adams, she died 10 years ago of a drug overdose, infact it'll be the 10th anniversary of her death tomorrow", Scully raises her eyebrows

"A connection maybe" she remarks

"We'll find out when we see this Andy Tyler, thanks for your help Tony" says Doggett

_**Andy Tyler's House, Washington DC**_

Andy Tyler is looking through the paper at the murders of his friends when he hears a knock on the door, he opens the door and gingerly peers round it, Doggett and Scully flash their badges

"Mr Tyler, I'm Agent Scully and this is Agent Doggett we're investigating the deaths of some of your old college friends, may we come in" asks Scully

"Sure come on in" he replies, he ushers the Agents into his front room and indicates for them to sit dowm "So what's going on, I've been reading about the deaths of my old friends are 'they' coming for me next", Doggett looks at Scully and sighs

"We don't know what to think, but it looks like it, someone has gone to great pains to find you all, we'd like to know why" says Doggett

"But I haven't seen any of these guys since I left the University of Boston 18 odd years ago, why wait till now" starts Andy

"Why don't you start with how you all met" suggests Scully "I take it you were all in a band or orchestra or something" Andy nods

"Yeah we were all studying music at Boston Uni we started a folk band to help pay the bills, we were good too, we entered a national competition the prize was performing at a festival of our choice we went to the Newport Folk festival, but I can't think of why anyone would want revenge on us, not after all these years anyway" he explains,

"Do you have a picture of the group" asks Scully

"Yeah, somewhere" he replies, he opens the cupbord under the stairs and spends a few moments rummaging around, he comes out with a shoebox, "it should be in here" he opens the box and flicks through the photographs "here you are" he hands Scully the photo, she looks and her eyes widen in disbelief

"John, look at this" she says astonished, Doggett comes over to look, the photograph is slightly different, instead of the blond girl in the other pictures in this one the girl has red hair,

"Well I'll be damnned, it's Karen Frost" he says.

Doggett turns around to face Andy,

"Why did you give us this picture when these were found with the victims" asks Doggett as Scully hands over a copy of the other photographs, Andy looks at it and smiles

"I guess I always had a soft spot for Karen and how the hell do you know her as far as I know she's back in England" he replies, Scully raises her hand

"Look I'm confused now, when did Karen Frost get involved in this" she says

"Karen took over when Carol left the band" he explains

"My head hurts now, look why don't you start at the beginning" she says, Andy sighs and settles down

"Ok, here goes, Mike, Stuart, Connor, Carol and myself were studying music at Boston Uni we formed a band to try and earn a bit of money to help with the bills, we all understood that it wouldn't get in the way of our studies we didn't want to be the next Fairport Convention or anything like that it was just a bit of fun, we all agreed on that, anyway we started to get noticed, got good reviews in the papers and the like we got a couple of offers from a local record label but we were'nt interested, we'd worked too hard to be accepted to the uni to give it up on something that may never work out" he sighs again "not all of us weren't interested in fame and fortune Carol never forgave us for turning down the record contract, she started to drink, cause arguments, fights within the band, we threatened to dump her hoping she'd clean her act up that worked for a while until a scout from a major label came to see us one night, we gave him the usual "come back after graduation" we thought Carol would hit the roof but she was amazingly calm, we didn't know at the time but she'd already signed with the label, she told us at the next rehersal what she'd done and she was leaving, we tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn't listen, packed her bags and dropped out the next day" he gets up and pours himself a drink and drains it in one, he grins sheepishly at the agents "I know it's a little early for this but the next part of this story tears my guts out, the label basically chewed Carol up and spat her out", Scully has been chewing facts over in her mind

"I remember a Carol Adams, singer from the 80's sang girlie bubblegum pop, Debbie Gibson/Tiffany type of thing" reminisces Scully, Andy nods

"That's her, the label's managment and PR people made her change her image, she was a talented classical pianist but you wouldn't have guessed it from the publicity machine, there was a lot of that girlie bubblegum thing around at the time and Carol was their's, the shelf life of those pop girls was only a couple of years once they grew up and their fans grew up it was move onto the next big thing, anyway she enjoyed a couple of years sucsess and went into obscurity when music fashion changed and rap became the next big thing, she tried to grow up, relaunched herself as a raunchy singer but it didn't work, tried classical music but no one took her seriously, she spent more time on the front page of the National Enquirer than in the music press, then they found her in a sleezy hotel room with druggy rocker Eddie Luce...dead of a heroin overdose" he gets up and pours another drink, downed in one "oh she got what she wanted, she'll be remembered with the greats Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Sid Vicious..." he slams his glass down bitterly, Scully flinches, Andy looks sheepish "I'm sorry but I said it tears me up" Scully smiles sympethetically at him

"I guess it is hard to see someone you care for slide into the depths of dispair" she says, I don't need to guess I've seen it first hand she thinks as she remembers Mulder's quest for his sister and his X Files, she glances sideways at Doggett and thinks of his fight for justice over Luke's murder, no I know what it's like alright

"So where does Karen fit into this" asks Doggett softly "I can't see her singing in front of a couple of hundred people, she's terrified of her own shadow", Andy smiles wistfully

"Karen had the most beautiful voice I've ever heard, so pure, she'd never had voice training or anything, God I can guarantee I'll never hear anything like that again, out of the 5 of us I'd say she was the most likely to succeed in music, but she didn't want to know, didn't even study music she was at MIT doing computers" replies Andy

"But she's so shy, timid, how the hell did she stand on stage and sing" splutters Doggett, unable to believe what he's hearing

"The campus shrink at MIT gave her some programme that involved, meditation, breathing exercise's and herbal tea, well it worked she was totally different on stage, so confident and in control, which reminds me you never did tell me how you knew Karen" he says

"She's an FBI agent, she works in our IT department" says Scully, reaching for her phone "I'm going to bring her in on this her life maybe in danger too"

_**Later**_

Karen Frost pulls up to the house, a little nervous about what she's needed for, she gets out and knocks on the door which is opened by Scully

"Hi Karen come on in" she says

"What's going on Agent Scully" Karen asks

"Well this is the house of your old friend Andy Tyler, the other members of your old college band have died in unusual ways and we want to bring you both up to speed on it" Scully replies, Karen's eyes widen and she takes a step back

"And we're next on this maniac's list" she says fearfully

"Could possibly be" Scully puts an arm around Karen's shoulder "Come and say hi to Andy", they walk into Andy's living room and Karen breaks into a big smile as Andy comes over to hug her.

"Hey how have you been, I see you sold out and went to work for 'The Man' and here was me thinking you went back to England" he says

"I did for a while but dad saw an oppotunity for me at the bureau and I took it" she replies smileing

"This reunion is touching" says Doggett "but we need to establish why your bandmates are being killed, maybe Karen can fill us in on a few things while you finish off your story", Andy nods and carries on

"When Carol left the band we auditioned for a new singer, Karen came and we hired her on the spot" he says

"You said something about a contest" says Scully, he nods and carries on

"Yeah it was a battle of the bands kinda thing run by a national music paper, we got into the finals in New York and we won, chose to appear at the Newport Folk Festival, we even met Joan Baez" he says Karen carries on

"Carol was there that night too presenting the prizes, it was her first big night out as a pop princess, big photo opportunity, I'm telling you if looks could have killed when it was announced we'd won, I'd be six foot under" she says, Scully notices how confident she was becoming, it must be Andy's influence, she'd noticed how Andy had put Karen at ease

"Jealousy?" asks Scully, Karen shrugs

"Could be" replies Andy "Carol was never very gracious about acknowledging other peoples talent, especially as everyone was talking about Karen that night"

"What happened after Carol died, did anyone threaten revenge for what happened" asks Doggett

"Well Carol's sister Caitlin did blame us for her death, said we'd let her down, ignored the pleas for help, I did get one call from Carol a few years after, a drunken tirade about how we'd eclipsed her star at the talent show, how all the press had found out that she was in the band but left to find fame, how we'd ignored her attempts to reunite the band, but we'd all gone our seperate ways by then but Carol kept calling laying the blame for all her problems at our door, we got together at Carol's funeral, played a number at the service, then Caitlin started laying into us said we'd all pay for what we'd done to Carol, that Carol would have her revenge, we just thought it was grief talking, Carol and Cait were twins so they were extreamly close, I never took her seriously not until now anyway" says Andy

"Why didn't you say anything about Caitlin's threats" blusters Scully

"I thought it was all said in the heat of the moment, Caitlin was very upset when Carol died" he replies

"I know this is going to sound odd but does Caitlin practise...um...voodoo" Doggett asks hesitantly, Andy looks surprised

"Cait...voodoo...why for gods sake" Andy blusters, Scully takes over

"Well certain information about the deaths of your friends was kept from the press, there were certain ritualistic items found at the scenes which we have since found to be used in voodoo ceremonies" she says

"You're nuts" retorts Andy "are you seriously asking me to believe that Caitlin has conjoured up some voodoo boogyman to get her revenge on us", Scully shrugs

"Looks like it" she replies

"You're nuts" Andy repeats,

"Don't be so quick to dismiss them Andy, I've heard stories about some of their cases that'll give you nightmares for years" says Karen

"Never mind whether you believe us or not we need to get you to a safe house, Scully, take Karen back to her place to pack I'll keep an eye out here" says Doggett

_**(19) Karen's Apartment**_

Karen is packing a suitcase and Scully is helping,

"So what happens now" asks Karen

"We'll send you and Andy out of the area and do our best to catch whoever's been doing this" replies Scully smiling "You know you've changed a little since you met up with Andy again, you're a little more confident", Karen blushes

"I had a crush on him but he already had a girlfriend so I didn't make a move, he always had time for me and my problems though he helped me a lot with the shyness" she says, Scully smiles again and goes to get things from the bathroom "do you really think Carol's sister has anything to do with this" she calls to Scully

"I really don't know but according to Monica, you know, Agent Reyes, this is definatly Voodoo based" Scully replies

"So you think Carol's sister has called up some bad guy voodoo god to get rid of the band for what she thinks they did to Carol" asks Karen

"Or she paid someone to do it" replies Scully "Voodoo practioners make a good living from it"

_**Andy Tyler's house**_

Andy brings a suitcase, a holdall and his guitar case down the stairs and loads them into the car

"Are you serious about Caitlin putting the voodoo hebejebies on us" he asks Doggett

"That's where the evidence is pointing" Doggett replies

"Do you really believe in all this, I thought you guys dealt in hard facts not ghoulies and ghosties" Andy says, Doggett thinks hard before answering

"Yes, I guess I do now, when I first joined the X Files, that's what our department's called, anything unexplained goes to us I thought it was just an outlet for Agent Mulder's obssesion and paranoia, Agent Mulder was Scully's original partner he blasted away at the FBI hierachy and they gave him an office in the basement to investigate anything unusual, anyway the more cases I worked on the more things I saw that couldn't be explained so yes there are things out there that cannot be explained in black and white" he says

"And you think this is one of them" Andy remarks, Doggett nods

"We had a case earlier this year which had a Voodoo tinge to it" he replies, Andy has been thinking while Doggett's been talking

"You know thinking about it now Caitlin did live in New Orleans for a while, we obviously didn't keep in contact after Carol's death but she did say that was where she was living at the time and she did say that CAROL would get even not herself, what do you think" he asks

"I think we should get out of here as soon as possible" says Doggett as Scully and Karen pull up outside

_**J Edgar Hoover Building, Washington DC**_

After dropping Andy and Karen off at the safe house Doggett and Scully return to Washington, their first stop is to find if Caitlin was still living in New Orleans, their second stop was at Monica Reyes' office

"Hey Monica" says Doggett, Reyes waves back "So tell us how you'd go about putting the voodoo meanies on someone" Reyes looks astonished was this the same sceptical, no-nonsense John Doggett she knew and loved

"Well it depends, on what you wanted and where you were" she replies, Scully raises an eyebrow

"Where you were?", Reyes nods

"I've already said that Haitian and New Orleans Voodoo is practised slightly differently, it's also practised in Africa and in some form in Mexico" she folds her arms and looks straight at them "so why don't you stop with the cryptic clues and tell me what's going on", Doggett sigh's

"There's no fooling you is there", Reyes narrows her eyes and glares at him "ok ok we think that the sister of the original singer of the band, who's deaths we've been investigating may have struck a deal with someone to use voodoo to kill off the people she blames for her sister's death" he says, Reyes blows out a breath

"Wow that's some theory for you" she remarks "what brought you to it"

"Well we all know that vèvè's have been found at at least 2 of the scenes and you yourself said that this Zdenek thing needs human sacrifices for big things, also Andy said that Carol's sister Caitlin said that Carol would have her revenge on the rest of the band, I have no idea how voodoo works so bear with me, can Voodoo practioners bring back the dead" Reyes nods

"In extreme cases" she replies

"Well Caitlin strikes a deal with Zdenek, if he brings her sister back he'll get all the human sacrifice he wants by doing whatever voodoo gods do to the rest of the band and she gets her twisted revenge" he finishes, Monica nods

"Sounds feasable" she replies "I don't want to put a dampner on this but moving Andy and Karen to a safe house may not deter a voodoo practitioner", Scully's been thinking

"Monica do you still have contacts in New Orleans" she asks

"Some" replies Reyes "why do you ask"

"Well someone was hired to do this, is there anyway of finding out who's been spending big amongst the practitioners, this service couldn't have come cheap" Scully muses, Monica nods in agreement

"I'll check with suppliers too, special herbs and things are needed for a ceremony like this" says Reyes as she picks up thhe phone

_**The Next Day**_

Doggett is awakened by his phone ringing

"This had better be important" he growls into the reciever

"John it's Monica, I've had some results, meet me and Scully at Dulles Airport we're on the first flight to New Orleans" Reyes says

30 minutes later Doggett is in the departures lounge with Scully and Reyes

"Ok you drag my ass out of bed at 5.30am so this had better lead somewhere" he grumbles, Scully sticks a cup of coffee in front of him

"Here, he'll be a lot more plesant after his caffine fix" says Scully to Reyes, Doggett scowls at them, Reyes hunches over the table and whispers her news

"Well I made some enquiries last night and I got a couple of leads, Marie LaBelle runs a magic shop in the French Quarter, she's a Rada Loa Priestess, she had someone come into her shop for some specific ingrediants, Marie recognised the ingrediants for a black ritual and refused to serve them she said they were for a raising ceremony and were expensive and difficult to get hold of, she didn't recognise the buyer but she says she'll help us" she explains

_**'La Vie Du Monde' magic shop, French Quarter, New Orleans**_

A dark skinned woman aged about 50, dressed in a long flower print dress and matching head scarf is arranging items on the shelf behind the counter when the three agent walk in,

"Bonjour Marie" says Reyes, Marie comes out from behind her counter and hugs Reyes

"Ahhhhhh Monica cherié how are you, how is the non smoking going" she says in her Cajun/French accent, Reyes blushes

"Not well I'm afraid" replies Reyes, Marie wags her finger at her like she's a naughty child

"I did offer to help you, you took my herbs ok, why didn't you use them" scolds Marie

"I did try them, but they tasted so bad I'd rather have the cigarette" Monica confesses, Marie indicates to Doggett and Scully

"These are the two that need my help yes" Monica nods

"This is Agent John Doggett and this is Agent Dana Scully, they're investigating a case that may involve Black Magic" replies Reyes

"Ahhh yes I see, that is why your Agent Rochelle was asking all those questions last night, you tell me what is going on and I will tell you what I can" Marie says, the Agents tell the tale of Carol and the deaths of her band mates and the conclusions that they have come to, after hearing the story Marie gets up and starts collecting things from the shelves.

"We have to leave now if you want to find the others alive and stop this" Marie says

"They're safe no one but us knows were they are" retorts Doggett, Marie scowls at him

"You still don't understand do you, they will not be safe from Zdenek, the Black Gods know how to find them" Marie remarks "I have to go with you, only I have the power to help you", she beckons them to leave and locks the door behind them

_**Democrat Hot Springs, Northern Georgia**_

Andy and Karen are sitting on the porch of an old hotel in the deserted town, the old hotel had recently been refurbished on the inside and used as a safe house by the FBI, 2 agents are sitting in an old barn across the road watching the hotel, Karen is reading a book and Andy is playing his guitar , Karen sighs and puts her book down

"What's up" asks Andy

"This whole stupid senario, sitting here in the middle of nowhere because someone has got the idea that a face from the past has put a voodoo curse on us, it sounds like some TV show" she says, Andy looks at her,

"We'd have had to go into hiding anyway, after the deaths of Mike, Connor and Stu it was only time before 'they' got to us" he looks around "I wish they could have found something a little less...primitive, I have this weird feeling I should be brewing moonshine in the barn and you should be looking after at least 12 kids" he laughs as Karen throws her book at him

"If you start calling me Ellie-May ah'm gonna break ya head with that there cooking pot and feed ya to them there swine" she replies in an exaggerated Southern accent

"Why Miss Scarlet, ah do believe that's the worst southern accent ah've ever heard" he replies, they both start to laugh, breaking the tension, they turn at the sound of a footstep and see one of the agents "Hi Agent Richmond what's up", the agent doesn't reply but carries on walking towards them, Karen looks suspiciously at him

"Agent Richmond are you ok" she asks now getting a little worried by the man's silence, Richmond looks at her with blank eyes, Karen gasps "Oh my God, Andy look at him he's a...a...a zombie" Andy gets up grabs her hand and makes a run for the car but the way is blocked by the other agent who grabs both of them and drags them towards the barn.

They get pushed into the barn still struggling, a blond haired woman appears from behind a pillar, Andy glares at her

"Caitlin, so this stupid story about you using voodoo to get your twisted revenge is true" he spits, Caitlin smiles

"Sort of, but it wasn't my idea, I wanted Carol back at first but I'd have never thought of going through with it if he hadn't come to me 3 years ago" Caitlin nods towards the man coming in the door

"Eddie Luce, I thought you died with Carol in that hotel room" gasps Andy, Luce grins

"No that wasn't me it was one of our roadies, Nick I think his name was, oh I was there, it started as an after gig party, anyway the others left after a few hours, Carol wanted to carry on so we sent Nick out to score some Heroin and some Acid, he came back we started shooting up, I was on some heavy trip for most of the night when I came down I found Carol and Nick dead, I panicked and switched clothes with Nick and hit the ground running, I holed up in Mexico for a few years, I got mixed up with a priestess of some kind of voodoo and I watched her bring this guy back to life and I thought maybe I could get Carol back, you may not believe it but I loved her, she was getting clean we both were but we went to that stupid party and started again. Anyways a few years ago I went to New Orleans and got involved with a secret society, Black Voodoo, became quite powerfull too, I met Cait at one of the ceremonies we carried out, she wanted revenge on you guys for what happened to Carol and I wanted Carol back so we hatched this plot, the Gods got their sacrifices Carol got her revenge and I get my Carol back" he finishes, Andy's mouth drops open

"You're nuts, you fried your brains with acid, you seriously think you're going to get away with this, the FBI have you tagged for this" he splutters, Caitlin gives an cold evil smile

"I've got away with it" she replies "You two are the last sacrifices needed, tonight we will all get what we want"

_**Later That Evening**_

In the barn a group of voodoo worshippers are gathered to perform the last part of the ceremony all dressed in colourful robes, Karen and Andy are tied together on a specially made concrete altar,

"I never thought I'd go out like this" Andy says, he grabs Karen's hand and squeezes it

"How do you think they'll do it" askes Karen

"Quickly I hope" he replies.

A car pulls into the deserted town and three women and a man get out

"I don't like this it's too quiet" says Doggett drawing his gun

"I agree" says Scully also drawing her gun, she goes slowly towards the hotel where Andy and Karen were staying, she motions Doggett to the back and beckons Monica towards her "On my signal" she whispers and indicates the countdown on her fingers, Three, Two, One, Monica kicks the door open as Doggett does the same with the back door

"FREEZE FBI!" they all shout, but no-one is there

"I like this even less now" says Doggett, he pulls a walkie talkie out of his pocket "Agent Richmond...Agent Taylor...come on answer me...Richmond...Taylor...come on..." he heads out of the door "now I'm worried" he's followed by Scully and Reyes, Marie stands in front of him

"You cannot help them, I can, you must do as I say" she says, Doggett sighs and agrees he and the others gather around Marie

_**The Barn**_

In the barn the ceremony is in full swing, a coffin is laid by the altar and a symbol of three interlocking diamonds has been drawn on the floor, the drumbeats and chanting disguises the sound of Marie, Doggett, Scully and Reyes entering the barn, Marie pours salt into a large circle and beckons the others to stand in it with her,

"This will keep us safe" she says.

The other ceremony is coming to an end a hand is seen coming out of the coffin Andy and Karen stare horrified at it

"My God it is her I recognise that ring" says Andy, Karen doesn't reply she is muttering prayers of her own, suddenly a slithering sound is heard and a giant snake slides into the barn and up to the altar, Andy gives Karen's hand one last squeeze and closes his eyes waiting for the end, Caitlin looks directly at the group at the back of the barn

"You cannot help them now revenge is mine" she laughs, Marie steps into view

"I don't think so cher, it is not good to decieve the Gods" Marie replies and throws a medalion baring three interlocking triangles onto the altar, the sound of wings is heard in the barn and Caitlin starts to scream

"NOOOOOOOOOOO! NO NO NO Zdenek please forgive me, I didn't mean it, please don't" she falls to her knees begging, Doggett runs to Marie

"Are you nuts" he yells "you've called up another of these things" Reyes and Scully appear beside them, Marie puts her hand on his shoulder

"What is the first commandment cher" she asks, Doggett frows

"Thou shalt not have any God before me or something like that" he replies, realization dawns on Monica's face

"Oh my God yes, she's broken one of the fundimental rules of voodoo hasn't she, she's called on two petro loa's" Scully looks lost "in black voodoo you must worship one loa and one only, the snake isn't Zdenek the vulture is, oh that's clever Marie" Reyes says admiringly, they all turn as Caitlin screams again

"No no no they've seen each other" the vulture screams at the snake and the snake rear up and lashes out at the vulture, the agents watch in horrified facination as the gods eye each other suddenly the snake coils it's self around Eddie Luce and carries him off, Catlin cowers at the altar begging the Vulture for her life, she makes a bolt for the door but the vulture swoops down, grabs her in his beak and flys off, the other worshippers make a run for it where they are faced with the Georgia PD and local FBI agents.

Inside the barn Scully helps an exhausted Marie to sit down, Doggett and Reyes are untieing Andy and Karen

"I don't even want to know what just happened" says Andy

"Are we safe now" asks Karen, Reyes nods

"I should think so", Andy gets up and walks over to the coffin, his takes a deep breath and peers in, he gasps

"She hasn't changed at all, it's...unbelieveable, has it got something to do with the voodoo thing" he asks, Marie nods

"She has probably been planning this from day one cher" she remarks

"So how did you know about the two gods thing" asks Scully, Marie smiles

"The vèvè's gave it away similar but different to those who aren't used to looking, I don't know why she thought she could get away with it, everyone from the High Priestess to the lowest newcomer knows you don't worship two loa's but when hatred and obsession blind your logic mistakes are made" she looks at all the agents in turn "as you all know to your cost, learn from this or it will consume you in the end, learn to let it go"

_**Memorial Park, Washington DC**_

It is two weeks since the agents came back from Georgia, statements have been taken and questions asked and answered, now Doggett and Reyes are sitting at the bandstand in the park Andy has invited them to attend a concert that his school orchestra is performing, he and Karen are planning to pay tribute to their former band mates, Reyes waves to Scully and the man with her

"Is that Mulder" she asks Doggett, he nods

"Yep that's him" he gets up and hugs Mulder "it's great to see you up and out at last", Mulder returns the hug

"I was going stir crazy and besides I want an update on everything" he says grinning

"Not all at once" warns Scully

"Bonjour mon cher's" says Marie

"Marie what are you doing in Washington" exclaimes Monica

"I was invited" she replies "and I wanted to see how Andy and Karen are doing" she spots Karen and waves her over "how are you doing cher" she asks as she kisses Karen

"Great, really great thank you I feel better than I have for years, oh I must go it's time for our tribute" she says running off

"Ah she looks so happy doesn't she, ah l' amour" Marie says smiling, Reyes looks sharply at her

"Marie what have you been up to", Marie pretends to look hurt

"Me, nothing cher, I just gave l'amour a helping hand"

"Shh" says Doggett "they're about to start", Andy takes the microphone and starts to talk

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm interrupting the programme to pay tribute to to my former bandmates from my student days, you will have read about the murders in the papers they were good friends of ours and Karen and I like to perform a little number in remeberence of them" Karen joins him onstage and begins to sing 'A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall', as she sings each of the agents gets lost in their own thoughts as are the two musicians on the stage.


End file.
